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More than a newspaper

The Commons is the public face of a larger nonprofit organization, Vermont Independent Media, Inc.

We came to life from the ground up in 2004, as members of the community became increasingly concerned about the consequences of absent corporate ownership of the daily newspaper in town and the need for local people to have access to the skills to create their own grassroots media.

VIM came to life lovingly and carefully thanks to indefatigable volunteers. The first public programs of the Media Mentoring Project began in 2005, and the first issue of The Commons was published in 2006. The newspaper was published monthly until 2010, when we began a weekly schedule. We are published on Wednesdays 51 times a year.

Our mission

Recognizing that a vigorous exchange of ideas and information allows democracy to function and is the lifeblood of a community, Vermont Independent Media:

• creates a forum for community participation,

• promotes local independent journalism,

• fosters civic engagement by building media skills

through publication of The Commons and commonsnews.org, and through the Media Mentoring Project.

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By law, every 501(c)3 nonprofit organization must make its IRS filings available to the public. Here are ours.

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We're at 139 Main St., Brattleboro, Vermont (the Hooker-Dunham Building).

During Gallery Walk on May 6, Kate Anderson, Robert (Mark) Burke, and Timberly Hund projected photos from the Hooker-Dunham Building offices of Brand Pandemic and Mondo Mediaworks, three stories above Main Street

The photos grew in form, structure, and color as Friday turned to night: Brooks House presiding over carriage-filled streets, women in long dresses, the building’s name plate, flames swallowing the roof.

People enjoying Gallery Walk stopped, watched, and leaned over to whisper to each other.

A five-alarm fire on April 17 tore through the 1871 Brooks House, displacing 60 residents and 10 businesses. Owner Jonathan Chase has had Brooks House in his family for 40 years. He has pledged to rebuild.

The projected photos of Brooks House were the first part of the Brattleboro Town Arts Committee’s multi-phase Project Project.

As in Project (verb) and Project (noun).

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for the community to voice feelings about Brooks House, the town, and community in this unsettled time,” said Anderson.

Project Project (a temporary name according to Anderson) took off a week ago after a meeting between committee members, community leaders, and Chase, said Anderson.

Although the project is still in its infancy, Anderson anticipates that it will evolve to include creative contributions from all sectors of the local arts community.

She envisions writers documenting the experiences of residents and business owners displaced by the fire. She’s working with Bob Stevens, of Stevens & Associates P.C., about finding space for performing artists to hold shows in the Brooks House windows.

Anderson is also talking with musicians about holding concerts in the tunnel leading from High Street to the Harmony Parking lot.

The project will last one to two months.

By sparking discussion, Anderson hopes the creative output will help the community process their emotions about the fire at the Brooks House. But she also hopes the community will start to dream and help construct the building’s future.

“While the original idea had popped into my head, in no way on this earth could it have gotten any further without Robert (Mark) Burke’s help to get it to gel, and then the entire Working Group all contributed very much,” said Anderson. “It wouldn’t be right to make it sound like it was Kate and helpers.... It was a collaborative effort, through and through.”

Anderson said they chose photos to represent the building’s past, the fire, the fire’s aftermath and the building whole again.

“Because that’s what will happen,” she said of the planned rebuilding of Brooks House.

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